Florian Wirtz completed his move to Liverpool last week from Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayer Leverkusen chief executive Fernando Carro says that the club did not sell Florian Wirtz for financial reasons - and instead accepted that he wanted the opportunity to play for Liverpool.
The Reds’ interest in Wirtz came as a surprise. It was expected that the 22-year-old would join Bayern Munich this summer after spending five-and-a-half years at Leverkusen. During his time in the Rhineland, Wirtz plundered 57 goals and 64 assists in 197 appearances and was instrumental when Die Werkself won their maiden Bundesliga title in the 2023-24 season.
What’s been said
Yet Carro declared that Leverkusen would rather have kept the Germany international than sanctioned the biggest sale in their history. Posting on LinkedIn (via BILD), the BayArena CEO said: "Many people have contacted me to congratulate us on the magnitude of Florian Wirtz's transfer to Liverpool Football Club. I certainly understand this point of view and see the economic impact it has on us.
"But you have to understand: As CEO of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, my primary goal was never to maximise financial profit. My clear goal is the club's sporting success which is why we tried very hard to convince Florian to stay with us. And it hurts that we didn't succeed.
"Florian's ultimate wish was to take the opportunity to play for Liverpool. We felt obliged to respect his wishes – and under these circumstances, to create a win-win situation: for the player, who can join his preferred option, and for us, to significantly improve the financial resources for the future of Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
"Florian joined us as a talent over five years ago. Now he leaves us as a club legend and undoubtedly an important part of the club's more than 120-year history. Such an honor at the age of 22 is simply unique. For me, Florian Wirtz will always remain a part of this club. Now we move on. There's a lot to do to stay strong, hungry—and successful."
Wirtz’s Premier League challenge
Wirtz has spent his entire career to date in his native Germany. Now he makes the move to the Premier League champions and will compete in the most difficult division in the world.
On the challenge ahead, Wirtz said: “I'm really excited to have a new adventure in front of me. This was also a big point of my thoughts: that I want to have something completely new, to go out of the Bundesliga and to join the Premier League. I will see how I can perform there. I hope I can do my best. I spoke also with some players who played there and they told me that it's perfect for me and every pitch is perfect, you can enjoy every game. I'm really looking forward to playing my first game.”
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